Santa Monica
The count fell. The rules were loosened.
Santa Monica counted fewer people in 2026 than in 2025, and the county counted more. The city still has many times the street homelessness, per resident, of Beverly Hills and Manhattan Beach. In the same stretch, the council repealed the rule that treated a bedroll as evidence of camping.
The count
The city reported 718 people counted as homeless in 2026, down 11.6% from 812 in 2025. Sheltered homelessness in the city’s figures rose from 202 to 222. People sleeping outdoors, not in a vehicle or a tent, fell from 475 to 389 (18.1%). City of Santa Monica, July 24, 2026 City of Santa Monica, July 23, 2025
The city’s headline “unsheltered” drop of 18.7% counts people and dwellings together: 610 to 496. Each vehicle, tent, and makeshift shelter counts as one. That is a different measure from the 18.1% drop in people outdoors. City of Santa Monica, July 24, 2026
| Year | Total | What the city reported |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 774 | First count run by LAHSA. City of Santa Monica, June 28, 2024 |
| 2025 | 812 | 202 sheltered; 475 people outdoors. City of Santa Monica, July 23, 2025 |
| 2026 | 718 | 222 sheltered; 389 people outdoors; 59 vehicles; 48 tents or makeshift shelters. City of Santa Monica, July 24, 2026 |
The city ran its own count through 2023. Those totals are a different series, so this site does not draw a trend line through 2023. City of Santa Monica, June 28, 2024
Los Angeles County counted 73,040 people in 2026, up 1.2%. LAHSA says that change is not statistically significant. Unsheltered homelessness in the county rose 3.3%, to 49,002. The Westside (Service Planning Area 5) counted 4,518. LAHSA, 2026 homeless count LAHSA, SPA 5 summary, 2026
RAND’s October 2026 report treats the longer Santa Monica series as roughly stable since 2017. Weighting each dwelling as 1.7 people, it puts the peak at 1,026 in 2019 and a preliminary 793 in 2026, concentrated downtown. RAND, Oct. 1, 2026 Santa Monica Daily Press, Oct. 1, 2026
Compared with the coast
Per 10,000 residents, using 2026 counts and 2020 Census population, Santa Monica is about 77, Beverly Hills about 10, and Manhattan Beach about 2.5. The label is calculated. The arithmetic is below. City of Santa Monica, July 24, 2026 LAHSA tract file, 2026 U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 Census
Santa Monica: 718 ÷ 93,076 × 10,000 = 77.1
Beverly Hills: 32 ÷ 32,701 × 10,000 = 9.8
Manhattan Beach: 9 ÷ 35,506 × 10,000 = 2.5
| City | 2025 | 2026 | Per 10,000 (calculated) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Santa Monica | 812 | 718 | about 77 |
| Beverly Hills | 17 | 32 | about 10 |
| Manhattan Beach | 4 | 9 | about 2.5 |
Beverly Hills went from 17 to 32 (30 people and 2 dwellings, none in a shelter inside the city). Manhattan Beach went from 4 to 9 (3 people and 6 dwellings). Both rose off very small bases. At those sizes, a year-to-year change is noisy. Neither city has a Metro terminus. The per-resident gap is still large. LAHSA tract file, 2026 LAHSA jurisdiction file, 2025 U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 Census
How those cities write and staff the rules is on Our Plan.
Police data
In 2025, Santa Monica police made 3,446 arrests, up from 2,804. Arrests involving a person experiencing homelessness rose from 1,622 to 2,465 — 71.5% of arrests, and a 52% increase. SMPD, 2025 annual crime report
Part I crime fell from 4,793 to 4,194 (12.5%). Calls for service fell from 128,820 to 124,848. SMPD, 2025 annual crime report The city says the department is at full sworn staffing for the first time in more than 20 years, and that the City Attorney files about 90% of fileable cases. City of Santa Monica, March 25, 2026
Homelessness-related calls for service, year to date through September 20, 2025, were 23,474, compared with 16,792 in the same period a year earlier (about 40% higher, calculated). Encampments logged in that window fell from 1,198 to 908. SMPD Blue Notebook, Sept. 14–20, 2025
For the full year, calls involving homeless people were 32,446 in 2025, 26% of calls, up from 23,950 and 19% in 2024. The Homeless Support Team reported removing 54.69 tons of debris in 2023, 253.97 tons in 2024, and 436.02 tons in 2025. Santa Monica Lookout, May 13, 2026
RAND found that half of aggravated assaults and 71% of robberies occur in the 5% of the city with the most crime, mostly downtown. In a 2025 visitor survey, 19.2% of repeat visitors said Santa Monica had gotten worse, and 60.8% of that group cited homelessness. Santa Monica Daily Press, Oct. 1, 2026
Outreach is not producing many housing exits. In fiscal year 2024–25, city-funded street teams made 6,666 contacts and placed 67 people in interim housing and 6 in permanent housing. City CAPER, FY 2024–25 SaMo Bridge, the police-referral program, took 462 referrals in its first year. It had been designed for 260. City of Santa Monica, July 24, 2026
What the law says now
The 2024 bedroll-as-evidence rule was repealed on March 11, 2025, by Ordinance 2804, on a 6–0 vote with Mayor Negrete absent. The findings called it “an ineffective tool.” Current law bans camping in tents and temporary shelters in public places. Sleeping in public is not illegal. Ordinance 2804, March 11, 2025
“Camp facility” covers tents, huts, other temporary physical shelters, cots, beds, or hammocks. Sleeping bags and bedrolls do not. The ban applies in parks, on beaches, on the Pier, and in streets, alleys, and public lots. The city says warnings and service referrals come before citations. Ordinance 2804, March 11, 2025 City anti-camping Q&A
A separate rule, Ordinance 2854, adopted April 14, 2026, on a 6–0 vote with Councilmember Zwick absent, bans sitting or lying on sidewalks from 6 a.m. to 1 a.m. downtown, on Main Street from Colorado Avenue to Dewey Street, and on Montana Avenue from 6th Street to 17th Street. The ordinance also says the general right-of-way rule will not be enforced against a person who is merely sitting or lying and not impeding traffic. Ordinance 2854, April 14, 2026
Parks, including Tongva and Reed, close from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. Palisades Park closes from midnight to 5 a.m. Chess Park closes from sunset to sunrise. SMMC 4.55.120
There is no overnight beach curfew. On April 8, 2025, Councilmembers Negrete, Zwick, and Zernitskaya asked staff to explore one with state agencies. Councilmember Raskin said the Coastal Commission had indicated a total closure would not be allowed. No adopted curfew was found. Santa Monica Daily Press, April 2025
Whether a vehicle-dwelling ordinance is in effect is unresolved in public reporting. One account says a ban exists. Another says the rules are on hold until a safe-parking site is found. This site does not treat a vehicle-dwelling ban as current law. Santa Monica Lookout, May 13, 2026 Santa Monica Daily Press, April 2, 2026
How the camping rule got here
In June 2024 the U.S. Supreme Court held in Grants Pass v. Johnson that a camping ban is not cruel and unusual punishment. U.S. Supreme Court, 2024 That September, Santa Monica put sleeping bags and bedrolls back into the definition of camping. Ordinance 2789 passed 4–3. Yes: Brock, Negrete, de la Torre, and Parra. No: Davis, Torosis, and Zwick. Then-Chief Ramon Batista told the council the change would not alter how officers enforce the law: “Sleeping in public spaces is not what we are regulating.” Santa Monica Daily Press, Sept. 2024 Los Angeles Times, Sept. 13, 2024
The tighter rule lasted about five months. Ordinance 2804 took it back out. The findings called the 2024 ban an inappropriate conflation of comfort items with encampments and “an ineffective tool,” and warned that making the city “inhospitable” would invite Los Angeles and neighboring cities to do the same. Ordinance 2804, March 11, 2025
How the council voted
This is the public record. It is not an endorsement. As of October 2026 the council is Mayor Caroline Torosis, Mayor Pro Tem Jesse Zwick, Lana Negrete, Dan Hall, Ellis Raskin, Barry Snell, and Natalya Zernitskaya. Phil Brock and Oscar de la Torre lost re-election in November 2024. City of Santa Monica, council roster Ballot Book, November 2024
| Date | Action | Vote |
|---|---|---|
| Feb. 14, 2023 | Declared a local emergency on homelessness. | Unanimous. City of Santa Monica, Feb. 15, 2023 |
| Sept. 24, 2024 | Ordinance 2789. Sleeping bags and bedrolls restored as evidence of camping. | 4–3. Yes: Brock, Negrete, de la Torre, Parra. No: Davis, Torosis, Zwick. Santa Monica Daily Press, Sept. 2024 |
| Mar. 11, 2025 | Ordinance 2804. That rule repealed. Findings called it “an ineffective tool.” | 6–0. Yes: Zernitskaya, Snell, Raskin, Hall, Zwick, Torosis. Negrete absent. Ordinance 2804, March 11, 2025 |
| Oct. 28, 2025 | Realignment Plan, including a downtown police substation. The city described a $3.5 million package. | Unanimous. Santa Monica Daily Press, Oct. 2025 City of Santa Monica, Oct. 24, 2025 |
| Mar. 24, 2026 | Realignment update. Authorized an SMPD–Metro agreement for the three Santa Monica stations, and gave Ordinance 2854 its first reading. | 7–0. Motion by Raskin, second by Torosis. Council minutes, March 24, 2026 |
| Apr. 14, 2026 | Ordinance 2854. Sitting or lying banned 6 a.m.–1 a.m. on downtown, Main Street, and Montana sidewalks. | 6–0. Zwick absent. Ordinance 2854, April 14, 2026 |
| Aug. 4, 2026 | Housing-focused system of care. The downtown shelter stays open until replacement sites exist. The city is taking the 34-room Palm Motel for people with Santa Monica ties and funding 35 beds at a shelter in Bell. | 6–0. Hall recused. Negrete’s motion to close the shelter immediately died for lack of a second. City of Santa Monica, Aug. 4, 2026 Santa Monica Lookout, Aug. 4, 2026 |
The Homelessness Strategic Plan for 2025–2030, adopted in March 2025, is organized around prevention, intervention, coordination, and communication. City Homelessness Strategic Plan
The E Line ends here
Metro’s 2023 evaluation found an average of 59 unhoused people exiting the last trains at Downtown Santa Monica each night. Of 46 people surveyed, 70% had been homeless for a year or more. Metro board file 2023-0214 In March 2025, Metro counted 63 and called it an uncharacteristic spike. The same reporting put the swing-shift average at about 10 per night over six months in 2024–25. Those figures cover different times of day. Metro board file 2025-0219
Across end-of-line stations, a 2025 survey found that 69% of people surveyed use Metro for shelter, 77% reboard in the morning, and 61% exit to an outdoor location. The terminus is partly a nightly loop, not only a one-way drop-off. No public series shows how many of those riders stay in Santa Monica. Metro board file 2025-1031
Metro says that up to 94% of people arrested for violent crime on its system had no valid fare. TAP-to-Exit began at Downtown Santa Monica on September 3, 2024, with citations from September 10. Metro, Aug. 2024 Metro later reported that security issues at that station dropped 83%, measured while other pilots were paused. A September 2025 schedule put taller gates there in November 2025. Current reporting says mid-2027 for the Santa Monica stations. The schedule has slipped. Metro board file 2025-0567 Santa Monica Daily Press, Sept. 23, 2026 Santa Monica Next, Sept. 2026
From July through December 2025, Metro recorded 27 reported crimes at Downtown Santa Monica, 5 at 17th Street/SMC, and 1 at 26th Street/Bergamot. All 27 downtown were “crimes against society,” such as trespass and narcotics. Incidents on the street outside the station show up in Santa Monica police data, not in this station count. Metro board file 2025-1098
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Transit Services Bureau patrols E Line stations outside the city of Los Angeles. Contract security works the Downtown Santa Monica fare gates. The City Council authorized an SMPD–Metro agreement on March 24, 2026, 7–0. It was still unsigned on September 23, 2026. It would cover Downtown Santa Monica, 17th Street/SMC, and 26th Street/Bergamot. SMPD would enforce fares and the code of conduct and could ride trains. Santa Monica Daily Press, Sept. 23, 2026 Council minutes, March 24, 2026 Santa Monica Next, Sept. 2026
Systemwide, Metro’s unhoused count on its own system fell from a range of 1,041–1,092 in 2024 to 395–517 in 2026, which Metro describes as a 57% drop, alongside more offloading and fare enforcement. Metro board file 2026-0572
The last city survey of where people had come from is from 2018: 44% from elsewhere in Los Angeles County, 32% from out of state, and 27% had been in Santa Monica less than a month. Origin and length of stay are separate questions. City of Santa Monica, March 7, 2018 On county facilities, Supervisor Horvath terminated two interim projects on Ocean Avenue on October 27, 2025, citing a lack of transparency. Supervisor Horvath, Oct. 27, 2025 This site does not claim that hospitals or other cities are busing people into Santa Monica. We did not find a public record that shows that.
What’s failing
- Sleeping in public is not illegal, and a bedroll is not evidence of camping. The council said the stricter rule was an ineffective tool and repealed it. Ordinance 2804, March 11, 2025
- Parks already close overnight, and the beach does not. There is no public count of camping citations or park-hour citations. SMMC 4.55.120 Santa Monica Daily Press, April 2025
- The police–Metro agreement is authorized and unsigned. Taller gates at Downtown Santa Monica slipped from a November 2025 target to mid-2027. Santa Monica Daily Press, Sept. 23, 2026
- 71.5% of 2025 arrests involved a person experiencing homelessness, and homelessness-related calls are up. Six permanent housing placements came from 6,666 outreach contacts in FY 2024–25. SMPD, 2025 annual crime report City CAPER, FY 2024–25
- The county’s Measure A spending plan for FY 2027–28 expects about $705 million against $780 million in costs, a $75 million gap, including $58 million cut from interim housing in the county’s scenario. Santa Monica cannot wait on that money to enforce its own rules. LA County HSH, Sept. 8, 2026 LA County, Measure A
- The last published cross-department total of what Santa Monica spends on homelessness is $42.5 million a year for FY 2020–21, including $25.4 million in public safety. No newer total is published. Santa Monica Daily Press, Oct. 1, 2026